On The Whiteboard With Steve Bigari: Restaurant Industry Predictions for 2018

Video Transcription

Hi, I’m Steve Bigari, and today we’re going to talk about the future of the restaurant business. That future is bright: no line, VIP service for anybody who wants it, on any visit, any day.

Now, it’s no surprise that off-premise is growing dramatically, but you have to understand the key drivers of off-premise. That is first and foremost convenience. You see people don’t have enough time. Order-ahead allows us to do a lot of things we weren’t able to do before. Third, delivery is exploding.
If you want to take advantage of this, you have to understand three concepts. The first is parallel ordering. If we know what a guest wants, infinite numbers of guests at any given time), then we can expedite the ordering process. Gone are the linear days where people stood in a cue line. Now, we can take orders from anywhere to a restaurant at any time.

Second, we have to capture those orders early, and that’s so that we know what the guest wants and where they are ahead of time. We do this in a technologically enabled environment where this omnichannel solution allows for voice, text, social, mobile, chat, email; all surrounded by a geo-fenced solution, which allows for a VIP guest experience.

This will streamline restaurant operations and create efficiencies not just for the guest, but for employees as well. You see this AI can handle compliance, training, production. It makes it easier and generates loyalty for both the guest and the employee, and allow[s] us just-in-time arrival and production so that guests become VIPs.

So, here at SYNQ3, the future is now. You see, we’ve created an AI, primarily for order-taking, so that you can have a sociable conversation and build your guest relations. But folks, the homerun, the goldmine in all this, is that all of this data is coming down through this omnichannel solution, and now this data will be more powerful, more valuable than anything we’ve ever seen. That’s the future of the restaurant business powered by SYNQ3.

The Restaurant’s 2018 Tech Future Looks Bright

With the start of 2018 in full swing, new technology presents ample opportunities for restaurants to make their futures brighter starting today. As takeout takes over, restaurants have to adapt to the new and growing off-premise, consumer trends. Using technology, restaurants can set themselves up for success in 2018 and beyond by providing the best, VIP experiences for guests. To do that, it helps to understand the primary drivers and characteristics of today’s restaurant ordering and takeout experience. Three key factors include: parallel ordering, the omnichannel relationship, and early, data-capturing technology.

In today’s restaurant industry, rather than serving one guest at a time in the linear fashion of a cue line, restaurants can now serve a growing number of guests all at the same time through several different channels. Parallel ordering allows for guests to connect with the restaurant at just about any time and in just about any way they want: text, social, voice, email, chat, mobile, etc. This gives your guests the power to connect with your restaurant in the way that suits them best. And, consequently, you provide a better experience for your guests that leads to greater loyalty.

As seen with parallel ordering, building an omnichannel relationship with your guests can secure off-premise sales and revenue as in-restaurant traffic continues to decline. The omnichannel relationship requires a seamless integration of ordering channels that make the experience easy for guests. Plus, the means for providing the delivery or pickup of those takeout orders must be as seamless as the ordering channels themselves. This is an area where the industry has struggled with so many delivery concepts forcing restaurants to manage and transmit orders from tablets to the POS systems, and with issues of data aggregation being stored with the delivery provider, rather than the restaurant. Thankfully, a more seamless solution is available; more on that to come.

Along with these methods for better guest interaction and greater sales, restaurants are also finding ways to capture orders early, track them, and store data to provide a more efficient, guest-friendly experience. Plus, in each of these interactions, the restaurant acquires insights for improving operations and the guest experience. One early-capture technology, geofencing, allows for restaurants to track the arrival of their guests in order to provide just-in-time production. This allows for greater efficiency for restaurant employees and for the guests.

Here at SYNQ3, we’ve developed an AI, omnichannel solution that provides sociable interactions with guests, captures orders early, and acquires actionable data for each experience and for future operations. Our solution, VIA, is an advanced AI, ASR (automated-speech-recognition) technology that engages with guests through voice-enabled channels from smartphones to smart cars, as well as through other channels such as social, text, chat, etc. Connect with us today and make your restaurant’s future brighter.